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A father who killed his two-year-old daughter after walking with her to a river when he was angered by the breakdown of a relationship will spend at least 14 years in jail.
Tewi Savage, 35, was sentenced in Rotorua High Court to life in prison on Tuesday after he was convicted of the murder of his two-year-old daughter Arnica Savage in March, a verdict that challenged jurors by telling them “you I got it fucking wrong. “
Savage, from Te Mahoe, had taken her daughter to the Rangitaiki River, after becoming angry about the breakdown of her relationship with Arnica’s mother, Santana Moses.
He was discovered naked in blackberry bushes saying “f ….. upstream” upstream from where his daughter’s body was found hooked in trees on July 1, 2018.
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Before sentencing, Crown Prosecutor Anna Pollett read two statements about the victim’s impact, one from Arnica’s mother, who was watching through an audiovisual link from Gisborne, and another from her older brother.
“It’s like I’m waiting for my time to end,” Moses said.
He said he now drinks and smokes a lot more because “it helps numb the pain, but when he wakes up it’s still there.”
“He wonders when he will have peace.”
The 13-year-old brother said he now has trouble sleeping and suffers from nightmares, and has been affected by seeing the impact of death on his mother.
“She has changed from before,” he said.
Pollett described the crime as a breach of trust “at its highest level.”
Savage’s attorney, Shane Tait, asked Judge Paul Davison if his client could address the court.
Savage was in the dock and, speaking in te Reo, then in English, his voice shaking at times, he said “I’m just sorry.”
“I couldn’t put it into words in English, but those who need to hear it can hear it, it means more to me and their ears in that language.”
Tait also described his client’s sense of shame for what he described as “one of the most serious crimes in the law book.”
“At the time he was suffering from an undiagnosed bipolar condition.”
Tait said that while it is not sufficient for an insane verdict, the court should consider it.
Judge Paul Davison said he had read the victim impact statements and “those who prepared them, including Ms. Moses, have gone out of their way to express their deep sense of loss over the death of a beautiful girl.”
“The pain, the sense of loss and the sadness he is experiencing cannot and will never be alleviated by the courts that sentence Mr. Savage today.”
He also referred to evidence provided by Savage’s mother about a family reunion in which she described her son behaving as if there was “an ongoing battle for his soul between the devil and God.”
Moses had also told Savage at this meeting of his intention to move to Australia.
“Despite any mental confusion, his actions had the tragic consequences of causing his death. . . All children in the care and custody of adults must remain safe at all times, ”he said.
“His life was taken from him by the actions of his father, someone he loved and adored.”
Davison also noted Savage’s mental health issues, which he said weren’t insanity but should be factored into his sentencing.
He referred to Savage describing to a psychologist how he took off his clothes and danced naked in front of Arnica in the river “to show his humility.”
“In no way can it be seen as rational thinking,” Davison said.
He said that a minimum prison term of 17 years would be grossly unfair, and that Savage’s remorse and shame were genuine.
“The tragedy of Arnica’s death will be a constant burden on you for life,” he said.
Crown prosecutor Richard Jenson had argued at trial that Savage was upset by the separation from his ex-partner and walked to the river where he decided to “end it all.”
She stripped off her clothes, grabbed Arnica, and carried her to the river where she was suffocated, either restricting her breathing, keeping her underwater, or just letting her go into the cold, swift waters.
But Tait had maintained that Savage suffered from mental illness due to undiagnosed bipolar disorder and that he had no murderous intent.
As jurors heard earlier in the trial, Savage, an electrician, and Arnica’s mother, Santana Moses, had been together for 14 years and had five children together. Arnica was the second youngest.
The couple had separated and Moses was living in Whakatāne and in the early stages of a new relationship. The couple had shared custody of the children.
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Arnica Savage, 2, was found dead in the Rangitaiki River in Te Māhoe on the night of Monday, July 1.
In the days leading up to July 1, Savage had found out about the new relationship and was struggling to get by.
On the afternoon of Sunday, July 1, the couple, along with Savage’s parents, met for a planned family reunion to discuss the separation with the children.
Savage told Moses that he was going to “get his heart back.” But she told him she didn’t want him to, Jenson said.
Savage got angry and frustrated, saying he wasn’t afraid of hurting her.
His mother told him to go for a walk and cool off. She put Arnica in a stroller, grabbed a book, and headed for the river. Moses went back to Whakatane.
It was getting dark and the family in Te Mahoe village began to worry.
Savage’s mother and two of her sons began searching. Near the river they found clothes and the stroller.
Then they heard Savage’s voice from the blackberry bushes – crying and screaming “he would fuck …”.
“She drowned, she’s dead, I drowned her,” Jenson had told the jury.
Police arrived around 7pm and were taken to a cornfield where Savage was “screaming and screaming.”
He told police he “needed to be cleaned. He knew he was naked in the water with his baby. He saw her face under the water and he sank with her. He let her go and saw her float.”
